Shares in Japanese chipmaker Kioxia rallied more than seven percent on their debut in Tokyo on Wednesday after an initial public offering that valued the firm at more than $5 billion.Formerly the semiconductor unit of Japanese engineering giant Toshiba, the firm is the world’s third-largest producer of NAND flash memory chips.It was acquired by US investment firm Bain Capital in 2018.Memory chips are used in everyday devices such as smartphones and storage drives, as well as in industrial and medical equipment, but their prices are notoriously volatile.Global demand for the chips has been driven by the growth of generative artificial intelligence technology, such as that used in OpenAI’s popular chatbot ChatGPT.Kioxia had been expected to go public in October, emboldened by soaring demand for AI, but a rout in tech shares forced the company to delay until this month.The firm set its listing price at 1,455 yen per share, valuing the firm at 784 billion yen ($5.2 billion) and raising about 120 billion yen — making it Japan’s second biggest IPO this year.Its shares jumped as much as 7.7 percent in morning trade before paring the gains to sit 4.7 percent higher at 1,508 yen.The company previously said it planned to issue around 21.5 million new shares, in addition to more than 63 million to be sold at home and abroad by existing shareholders Bain Capital and Toshiba.Kioxia is among several Japanese semiconductor producers the government is subsidising as it seeks to triple the sales of domestically produced chips to more than 15 trillion yen by 2030.Firms such as Toshiba and NEC helped Japan dominate in microchips during the 1980s, but competition from South Korea and Taiwan saw its global market share slump from more than 50 percent to around 10 percent now.But as China ramps up military pressure on Taiwan, heralding volatility on the self-ruled island’s ability to produce semiconductors, hopes are running high that Japan will re-emerge as a new chip hub.

Call it an antidote to fast fashion: Japanese jeans hand-dyed with natural indigo and weaved on a clackety vintage loom, then sold at a premium to global denim connoisseurs.Unlike their mass-produced cousins, the tough garments crafted at the small Momotaro Jeans factory in southwest Japan are designed to be worn for decades, and come with a lifetime repair warranty.On site, Yoshiharu Okamoto gently dips cotton strings into a tub of deep blue liquid, which stains his hands and nails as he repeats the process.The cotton is imported from Zimbabwe, but the natural indigo they use is harvested in Japan — its colour far richer than synthetic imitations, according to Okamoto.He calls it a “time-consuming and costly” method, commonly used to dye kimonos in the 17th-19th century Edo period.Momotaro Jeans was established in 2006 by Japan Blue, one of a few dozen denim producers in the seaside town of Kojima, renowned for their artisan quality.”We’re very strict about all aspects of manufacturing,” Japan Blue’s president Masataka Suzuki told AFP.That includes “whether the sewing is done properly, and whether the dye is beautiful,” making local craftspeople with traditional manufacturing skills indispensable.Their efforts do not come cheap, however. A standard pair of Momotaro Jeans retails for around 30,000 yen ($200) while a silk-blend pair costs 60,000 yen.The brand’s most expensive offering, woven by hand on a wooden machine converted from a luxury kimono loom, has a price tag of over 200,000 yen.Following in the footsteps of popular high-end Japanese denim brands such as Osaka-based Evisu and Sugar Cane in Tokyo, interest in Japan Blue is growing among overseas shoppers.They now account for 40 percent of retail sales, and the company recently opened its sixth Kyoto store targeting deep-pocketed tourists.- ‘Niche’ reputation -Denim-making flourished from the 1960s in Kojima, which has a long history of cotton-growing and textile-making.In the Edo period, the town produced woven cords for samurai to bind sword handles. It then switched to producing split-toe “tabi” socks and, later, school uniforms.Now denim from Kojima is used by international luxury fashion brands.The market for Japanese jeans “has grown in the last 10 to 15 years”, said Michael Pendlebury, a tailor operating a repair shop in Britain called The Denim Doctor.Although revered by denim aficionados in Western countries, they remain “not quite affordable for most” with something of a “niche” reputation, Pendlebury said.”Mass-produced denim brands like Levis, Diesel and Wrangler are the largest, and more worn, but the highest quality is still Japanese in my opinion,” he said, adding that the weak yen and a tourism boom could boost sales of made-in-Japan jeans.Momotaro Jeans is named after a folklore hero in Okayama, where Kojima is located. It’s part of the wider denim-producing Sanbi area, which also includes Hiroshima.Another factor that makes brands like Momotaro Jeans idiosyncratic — and expensive — is the use of very noisy old shuttle-weaving machines, which have only a quarter of the output of the latest factory looms.They often break down, but the only people who know how to repair the machines are in their 70s or older, according to Shigeru Uchida, a weaving craftsman at Momotaro.The brand uses a handful of shuttle looms made in the 1980s by a company owned by Toyota.”There are only a few of them in Japan now” because they are no longer made, the 78-year-old Uchida said, walking back and forth between the machines to detect unusual sounds that could signal a breakdown.Despite the complexities, he says their fabric makes it worth it.”The texture is very smooth to the touch… and when made into jeans, it lasts quite a long time,” Uchida said.Suzuki says Momotaro Jeans is a “sustainable” choice because “no matter when you bring it to us, we will take responsibility for fixing it”.”When people spend a lot of time in their jeans, the path of their life is left on the clothes,” depending on how they wear or wash them and even where they live, Suzuki said. “We want to preserve such a mark as long as possible.”

Asian markets swung Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated policy announcement, while shares in Japanese car titan Nissan soared more than 20 percent after reports said it was in merger talks with rival Honda.There were few catalysts to drive region-wide activity before the US central bank’s interest rate decision, with Wall Street providing a negative lead as profit-takers moved in while economic data was mixed.The Fed is widely expected to cut borrowing costs for the third successive time when it concludes its gathering later in the day, but the main focus is on its statement, with traders hoping for guidance on its plans for next year.With inflation coming down but hovering above the two percent target and the labour market still robust, decision-makers have been able to loosen their grip on policy since September amid optimism they can guide the economy to a soft landing.However, with Donald Trump due to take the White House next month pledging tax cuts, deregulation and tariffs on imports from China, there are fears that prices could be reignited, forcing the Fed to re-evaluate its rates timetable.”We are experiencing a whirlwind of change and uncertainty that profoundly affects global economies,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.”Questions loom: Will Donald Trump be a ‘Deal Maker in Chief’ or lean into his ‘Tariff Man’ persona? How will bond yields react? Can China effectively stimulate consumer demand? Will Trump broker peace in Eastern Europe? Will the dollar maintain its oppressive strength?”He added that “the crucial question is whether the Federal Reserve will signal a pause starting from the January (policy) meeting”.”My view leans toward an affirmative; the real intrigue, however, lies in how explicitly the Fed will beam this potential shift and confirm a ‘hawkish cut’.”While Wall Street fell — though still just off their recent record highs — Asian markets diverged. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul and Taipei rose but Singapore, Wellington and Manila fell.Tokyo edged down, though Nissan scorched 24 percent higher soon after opening in response to reports it was in preliminary merger talks with Honda, adding the move would help them better compete against Tesla and other electric vehicle makers.While both firms did not confirm the reports, they had agreed in March to explore a strategic partnership on EVs, which analysts said was aimed at catching up with Chinese competitors.Nissan in particular has been struggling, announcing 9,000 job cuts last month and slashing its annual sales forecast.The rise was the biggest since 1974, according to Bloomberg News.Honda fell about two percent, while Mitsubishi Motors — of which Nissan is the top stakeholder — gained more than 14 percent.On currency markets, the yen edged back against the dollar ahead of the Fed decision, while traders were also awaiting the conclusion of the Bank of Japan’s own Thursday meeting as debate swirls about when it will hike rates.Bitcoin pared gains after earlier hitting a new record of more than $108,315 Wednesday.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 39,281.06 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 19,860.34Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,385.49Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0500 from $1.0498 TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2705 from $1.2707Dollar/yen: UP at 153.66 yen from 153.41 yen Euro/pound: UP at 82.63 pence from 82.52 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $70.26 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $73.38 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 43,449.90 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,195.20 (close)